Meeting Abstract
Bumblebees are critical pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Given this, their declining populations are cause for concern. Multiple factors appear to contribute to these declines, including disease, habitat fragmentation, and pesticide exposure. There is some evidence indicating that one of the pathways by which sublethal neonicitinoid pesticide exposure damages population health is via a reduction in foraging efficiency. Given that reproductives are often only produced by the biggest hives, it is logical that reducing foraging efficiency of workers could decrease the reproductive output of the exposed population. Since foraging efficiency is important to colony fitness, it is logical to ask what other anthropogenic activities might cause disruption of foraging behavior. Previous work in our lab has shown that olfactory pollution of a learned floral scent modifies foraging behavior. The most pronounced effects were observed with Manzate, a commercial fungicide. While behavior experiments exposed Bombus impatiens to the headspace of Manzate (a sulfurous scent), the effects of this agrochemical on the olfactory pathway is unclear. To investigate potential modulation of olfactory processing by Manzate odor, we performed multi-unit recordings on antennal lobes in response to lavender odor, Manzate odor, and lavender + Manzate. Preliminary analyses indicate that responses to pollution of lavender odor are not a linear sum of responses to each individual stimulus.
